The Provisional United States of America, also known simply as just the United States, or United States of America, is a federal presidential constitutional republic and provisional state created after the Yellowstone Eruption, comprised of all American territory controlled by the United States government in Washington DC.

Following the eruption large portions of the former United States were either destroyed or cut off from Washington and the American government, causing the nation to lose control over large portions of its former territory. The nation declared a state of emergency, and created a provisional government until all former American states could be reunited.

The United States finally issued a message to all states within its reach, stating that a provisional United States government had been created until all states of the union could be contacted, from which point the United States would be recreated. Until then all American territory still loyal and aligned with Washington would be ruled by this provisional government.

To end mass food shortages in the nation following the destruction of the American Midwest, the United States has launched several military operations into the American south to secure fertile agricultural areas, establishing a sustainable food source for the American people. Scouting parties have also been lead into other nearby areas, including the former states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Contents

History

Pre Eruption

The United States of America declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, in the midst of the American Revolutionary War. After successfully defeating the British in the war, the United States' independence was recognized on September 3, 1783, and would create the Constitution of the United States on June 21, 1788, creating the framework for the American government, which would continue to the present day.

Eruption

On July 18, 1936 Yellowstone erupted, throwing large quantities of smoke, dust, and other debris into the atmosphere above the United States. Almost immediately large portions of the American Northwest and Midwest were lost, as ash plummeted to the ground below. The severe earthquakes that followed also helped to damage cities across the United States, creating fires, collapses, and other problems in cities along the blast radius.

In the Western United States cities such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, Phoenix, Lincoln, and Austin were all but destroyed, with Yellowstone's destruction killing the inhabitants within. Along the west coast cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salem, and Olympia, located just outside the blast radius, were heavily blanketed with ash killing thousands. In total the initial blast placed large, significant ash deposits as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia as far west as the states of California, Oregon, and Wasington, as far south as northern Mexico and Texas, and as far east as Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois.

Further damage came when the blankets of ash destroyed crops all across the American Midwest, leaving the nation without much of its former agricultural centers. Along the west coast especially many cities that managed to survive the initial blast soon succumb to hunger and starvation as shipments of food stopped arriving from the east.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was campaigning in Illinois at the time of the eruption, a location on the edge of the initial blast radius. When word came of the eruption Roosevelt was immediately evacuated to a train, which would take him back to Washington. While fleeing east Roosevelt would be exposed to volcanic ash, damaging his lungs and plaguing for years to come.

Almost immediately after the Yellowstone Eruption, the United States government called a national state of emergency. National guard units and military personnel were rallied and put on high alert, while several units were tasked with controlling the population among rioting, looting, and other crimes.

The United States finally issued a message to all states within its reach, stating that a provisional United States government had been created until all states of the union could be contacted, from which point the United States would be recreated. Until then all American territory still loyal and aligned with Washington would be ruled by this provisional government.

Initial Growth

Following the government's announcement several state governments in the eastern United States swore allegiance to the provisional government. States in the nation retained their senators and representatives in Congress, while congressmen for unaligned states, or states destroyed by Yellowstone's eruption and/or not yet contacted were treated as territorial representatives. The former American states of Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland would become the first states to recognize the new union, retaining their representation in Congress.

In late 1936 the United States began sending military personnel through Delaware into southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, scouting out the remnants of the former states. It was discovered that in Pennsylvania the state government had largely failed to retain order and control, eventually allowing the state to splinter into several different nations and factions. Upon receiving this news there was a general worry that a similar fate was likely in other parts of the former United States, prompting a sudden urgency to contact the other state governments.

With the agricultural centers of the American Midwest gone, starvation eventually begin to set in for the United States, as food supplies began to run out. The United States began regularly distributing stockpiled crops, although even this began to run low. It was clear that a new permanent food source would need to be established to sustain the United States' population.

In 1937 the United States government would mobilize a military force to pacify the American south, a location believed to be a good spot for a future agricultural hub. Traveling along the east coast, the United States army made quick advances through relatively peaceful and cooperative regions. By summer of 1937 several state governments in the south had been created from puppet survivor communities occupied by the United States Armed Forces, which officially joined the new union that same year.

Through a series of New Deal reforms the Roosevelt administration would begin the construction of several government subsidized properties in the south, leading to the development of several large farms to supply the nation. Largely worked by hundreds of poor lower class workers, the United States would slowly begin effectively feeding its fledgling population, largely ending fears of a permanent and debilitating nation-wide food shortage in the coming future.

With the admittance of North Carolina and South Carolina to the union as full states in late 1937, the Provisional United States had its largest official expansion since the Yellowstone Eruption, increasing the number of state representation in Congress. The military occupied regions of Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee would also become territories of the same name, comprised of their former state territory as well as parts of North and South Carolina not yet consolidated in 1938.

With food production slowing rising again to a moderate level, the Roosevelt turned its attention to other projects. Refugees from the west had flooded the nation, overcrowding cities and leading to poor conditions. Roosevelt expanded the policies toward housing, which through the New Deal had sought to stimulate the private home building industry and increase the number of individuals who owned homes. The two new housing agencies implemented by New Deal; the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), were given this task.

Unemployment remained high for several years, despite Roosevelt's policies, which helped to slowly carry the nation out of the depression. Many begin to take work in large mines or farms in the south, often working in bad conditions for little pay. Refugees were often treated as illegal immigrants, and received large amounts of discrimination from locals who though they would take away jobs from them.

By 1939 President Roosevelt began to show noticeable signs of illness, and suffered from minor respiratory problems believed to be caused by his exposure to ash while fleeing Illinois. With his condition worsening each day, he began spending more time in bed, requiring medical attention frequently. On December 7, 1939 Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away from natural causes, leaving John Nance Garner to succeed him as president.

Operation Southern Sunrise

Map of the United States at the start of Operation Southern Sunrise, with controlled territory in dark blue, and claimed or loosely controlled areas in light blue.

In 1940 survivors from the former states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia protested against the United States government, marching on the city of Savanna. Houses in the city were lit ablaze, and the protesters brought destruction upon the city. Wealthy land owners were captured and killed in protest, and some plantations were even sacked.

Knowing that the infrastructure around Savanna would be crucial to the United States' integrity, Garner was pressured to authorize military force into Georgia. US military personnel under the command of George Marshall marched into Georgia on February 2, 1940, retaking the damaged city of Savanna. To retaliate against the rebellion hundreds of protesters would be arrested or killed in the next few days, as Marshall's forces continued into Georgia.

On March 30 the territory of Georgia seceded from the union, following a military coup of pro-Georgian militants seized the military fortifications in central Georgia. A second force of American reinforcements coming down from Columbia, South Carolina would be pinned by the Georgians at Augusta, halting their advance. Marshall would respond by ordering his army north to break the Georgian line. Diverging away from the well established roads, Marshall's main army would be bogged down in the rough terrain and not arrive in time.

On April 3 the support army would finally be forced to withdraw back to South Carolina. The victorious Georgians occupied Fort Gordon and prepared to defend against the impending American counterattack by General Marshall. The attack came two days later, with the sudden artillery strikes from over the horizon to the south. The Americans bombarded the fort for three days, attacking parts of the fort at night. To worked to moderate success, however by the third day the Georgians remained firmly entrenched. One last attack was launched, utilizing aircraft from the North Army Air Base in South Carolina, and finally breaking into the fort. In the heroic last stand that followed the Americans took heavy casualties annihilating the remaining Georgian garrison. By the end of the attack the Battle of Fort Gordon had finally ended.

Marshall took heavy casualties in the struggle against a relatively small foe, convincing him that the coming war with the Georgians would be one of great difficulty. The support army was moved back to Augusta to join Marshall's forces. In other military frontiers in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Carolina similar conflicts erupted, and by late 1940 the United States had lost control over much of Kentucky and Tennessee.

In the north the rebel campaign culminated in the Battle of Huntington, as rebel forces entered West Virginia in November of 1940. After tearing through Lexington two weeks earlier the rebel forces surrounded the city and prepared a siege against the American garrison. If Huntington was to fall the rebels would enter Virginia, threatening the very integrity of the union itself. The rebels advanced with the Ohio on their left flank, forcing the Americans to defend against a lofty frontal assault. The American did however hold out, eventually launching a massive attack on the right flank. The rebel army launched a last ditch effort charge into the American lines, inflicting large amounts of casualties but destroying large portions of their forces in the process. The Battle of Huntington was a huge American victory, and the rebels retreated west.

The American army in the north would continue to hold off the rebels at Kentucky and Tennessee, effectively ending the possibility of any large scale offensive into Virginia. In the south, with momentum rising, Marshall advanced past Savanna, occupying the valuable coast line. Now surrounded on two fronts the Georgians ordered a general retreat to Atlanta, where a final stand would be made. In the meantime any guerrilla forces during the retreat were tasked with delaying the Americans as long as possible, so that proper defenses could be prepared.

Despite the Georgian government's best efforts, by late 1940 the people of Georgia had become extremely weary of further conflict. With the occupation of the coast the Georgians were further demoralized, and effort to fortify Atlanta was slow at best. Many in central Georgia had already surrendered, feeling that the original ideals of the opposition had been lost.

On December 2, 1940 the Americans laid siege to Atlanta, beginning a bloody three day battle with the Georgians. Heavily outnumbered and under supplied several prominent Georgian officers would attempt a military coup on the reigning president, hoping to end the war early, which they believed would stretch on for for months and result in the destruction of much of Georgia. The attack on the president was launched on December 4 and failed to assassinate their leader. Instead the fighting afterword would eventually tear the Atlanta faction apart.

Supporters of the president, although few, would fight to combat the Americans and the Georgian deserters throughout the night, but by December 5 the siege was lost. The president would finally be reported dead, resulting in the surrender of the few loyal forces left. The nation of Georgia fell into the hands of the deserters, who agreed to an unconditional surrender that day. For the Georgians the war had ended.

In Kentucky and Tennessee a moderate insurgency-like phase would ensue for the next few months, largely preventing the United States from making any quick gains into the region. The main armies of the resistance still active largely began surrendering by 1941, ending the possibility of any major offensives in the future. Likewise the United States had largely withdrawn from the region. By mid 1941 Operation Southern Sunrise officially ended as a decisive American victory.

Post War and Reconstruction

Following the war North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted as states into the union almost immediately. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia were designated as military frontiers, similar to before the war. Massive reconstruction efforts were created in Georgia, first with the rebuilding of the Georgian coast destroyed in the war. Savanna and its port were refurbished, laying the foundations for a great city once more.

A large military garrison was placed in Atlanta, making it the forward-most base of operations in the far south. A series of Roosevelt-style New Deal relief programs were extended in Georgia, allowing newer housing projects to begin construction. The large plantations of Georgia were also reopened, and in most cases larger and more powerful. In terms of plantation influence, the war did little to curb the growing power of the southern farms, instead having the reverse effect. The growth of farmland in the area did however reduce unemployment in most towns, which helped returning Georgian soldiers to get their life back on track.

Ultimately the successful American victory in Georgia and the tightened grip on the area that followed would pave the way for Georgia's admittance to the union as a state in 1943. By that point the state had grow from the ruins of the war, becoming a developing, rich farmland.

As the Decade of No Summers raged onward the people of the United States begin to feel its effects first hand, and by the mid 1940's a noticeable change in climate and temperature had reach much of the nation. By the end of the decade many had begun the migration south, populating states such as Georgia and South Carolina. A smaller population in the north helped to lower shipping costs for exporting food north, usually burning valuable oil in transportation.

Military

The military of the Provisional United States is almost identical to its predecessor, the United States Armed Forces, and consists of several diverse branches; the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The President of the United States serves as the overall head of the armed forces as Commander-in-Chief, and works with the US Department of War, a federal executive department, to carry out military policy.

The head of the Department of War is the Secretary of War, a civilian and Cabinet member, and second in command in the military's chain of command, underneath the President, and serves as the principal assistant to the President in all war-related matters. The United States military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel, and the largest in North America. Because of this the United States has been able to enforce control over much of the United States' former territory, contributing to early expansion and growth south.

Navy

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.
The navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a major role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers. Since then it has been heavily expanded, making it one of the largest and most advanced fleets before the Yellowstone Eruption.